N.C. department adds surveillance cameras

Police personnel have been tooling with the cameras for about 10 months, experimenting with locations and trying to get everything right

By Chris Berendt
The Sampson Independent

CLINTON, N.C. — A new wave of video technology is sweeping through the Clinton Police Department, as the downtown is now home to six police-monitored surveillance cameras perched strategically atop buildings and half the department’s patrol fleet is utilizing in-car camera systems.

The downtown cameras have been a work in progress for the last year, having received City Council approval last February, whereas the in-car cameras were approved as part of the current 2012-13 budget and were installed on a permanent basis about a month ago.

Police chief Jay Tilley said the technology is groundbreaking for the Clinton Police Department, and is expected to greatly assist with operations, investigations and training. The technology is also expected to aid the general public, especially the case with the downtown surveillance.